On Tuesday evening, a small but hearty group of 40 Days for Life participants gathered in freezing temperatures in Farragut Square for the 40 Days for Life Kickoff Prayer Vigil.
40 Days for Life is a peaceful period of prayer, fasting, and community outreach, and this sesason runs from February 17 to March 28.
After singing some hymns together, we heard Fr. Mark Ivany (a priest of Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda, MD) give a short reflection about our mission over the next 40 days. He began with this fitting quote from George Washington:
“The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army.” (1776)
When some people think of the pro-life movement, they think of angry protesters, gruesome photos, or even violent retribution. To be honest, when I came to the March for Life back in high school, I remember being really grossed out and a few times even scared of the more “intense” protesters I saw there.
But the pro-life movement is changing, and the reason I love 40 Days for Life in particularly is because of the courage and conduct of “this army”. It’s peaceful. It’s loving. It’s powerful. Participants even sign a “Statement of Peace” to pledge that they will conduct themselves in a Christ-like manner. This courageous witness and a gentle invitation to choose life is what touches the hearts of the people walking into the abortion clinic.
The goal of 40 Days for Life is to have prayer witnesses in front of Planned Parenthood from 7:00am to 7:00pmp for these 40 days. If you would like to sign up to be a prayer witness at a certain hour each week or for more information, visit www.40daysforlife.com/washington.
“When some people think of the pro-life movement, they think of angry protesters, gruesome photos, or even violent retribution. To be honest, when I came to the March for Life back in high school, I remember being really grossed out and a few times even scared of the more “intense” protesters I saw there.
But the pro-life movement is changing…”
I hope so. For too long those in control of the Pro-Life Movement were too satisfied in their confidence that they were right and had total disregard to how the Movement was viewed by large elements of the public.
In the ’70s there used to be a line that “I love the environment, I just hate environmentalists. I am for women’s equality, I just hate feminists; I support workers, I just can’t stand unions” and so on.
By the 1990s and to today, our problem is that too much of the public respects life but just can’t stand to be around pro-lifers.